Exposure

Aye's worries were not groundless. Atong did have a sharp eye. Although he did not recognize the disguised Tan Linshuang that morning, he remembered Ari's face.

To be precise, it was the conspicuous scar on Ari's face.

"Yes! It was that morning, in Pear Blossom Lane, that I met him once."

A Tong finally came back to his senses and looked at A Ri's back as he was about to disappear in the crowd. After hesitating for a moment, he followed him.

He had a hunch that there was something wrong with this person.

It wasn't just because of the two chance encounters, nor was it because of his horrible scar, but because he smelled the scent of his own kind.

He and he are the same kind of people!

They are like eels hidden among loaches. If you don't look carefully, it is difficult to detect them, but they can accurately identify their own kind.

Soon, Atong caught up with Ari.

He walked very carefully, using the crowd in front of him to shield himself, while Ari in front of him didn't seem to notice anything unusual.

It was not until they reached the river that Atong began to have doubts.

What is he doing here?

There were not many people by the river, and it was difficult for Atong to hide his figure, so he had to slow down and increase the distance between the two of them.

Fortunately, although there were not many people by the river, the view was excellent. He hid behind a big tree and observed where A Ri went.

Ari walked straight to the shore without changing his pace and got on a fishing boat.

Then he picked up the oar, stood at the bow and cut through the water, and the fishing boat slowly moved forward.

A Tong walked out of the tree and took a few steps towards the shore. "Fisherman?"

He didn't believe that Ari was just an ordinary fisherman.

Looking from afar as he watched A-ri rowing the fishing boat to the center of the river, A-tong observed the boats around him. They all seemed to be ordinary fishermen and had no interaction with him.

It is good to fish when the tide is high, but there have been many rainy days recently. Once the sky clears up, fishermen will rush to the deep water to fish, so the middle of the river is now full of fishing boats.

Gradually, A Ri's fishing boat disappeared among them, making it difficult for A Tong in the distance to see it clearly.

"Am I worrying too much?"

A Tong turned around hesitantly and prepared to go back.

"When I ran into him, he seemed to be coming out from the back door of the Qin Mansion."

A picture suddenly flashed through his mind, and he immediately quickened his pace, heading straight for Lihua Lane...

"Second Master, please be gentle...ah..."

In Yanzhi's room, clothes were scattered on the floor. She was kneeling on the edge of the bed, and her plump buttocks were pushed up hard by two big hands with exposed blue veins. Their fingers had sunk into the delicate flesh, and the red marks caused by squeezing were faintly visible between their fingers. With the fierce impact, the red marks gradually turned purple.

Her bulging belly pressed against the edge of the bed again and again with the impact from behind, and the irregular fetal movements made her anxious.

After several spasms, she was worried about miscarriage. Fear and excitement intertwined repeatedly, making her feel as if one foot was in the clouds and the other was in the underworld.

Feeling her body's strong reaction, Tan Mozhu became more and more excited. He hadn't had such an extreme release for a long time. He wanted to bring her back home and have sex with her every night.

I wonder if Yan'er's body is also so sensitive now?

While he was intoxicated, he couldn't help but think of Zhao Mingyan.

In order to take care of the pregnancy, Zhao Mingyan rarely left the main courtyard recently. Fan Wenlan simply exempted her from paying her respects and asked the servants from the east kitchen to deliver breakfast to the north courtyard. It was a rare sight to see her come to the main courtyard for breakfast yesterday. When she looked at her belly, she was already pregnant and her complexion was even more rosy, like a plump flower.

Will Lin'er have sex with her now that she has conceived?

He couldn't help but imagine the scene of the young couple cuddling in bed, and he became more and more excited, muttering: "Yan'er..."

Yanzhi was stunned, thinking that Tan Mozhu was calling her nickname while being carried away by passion. Just as she was about to respond in a sweet voice, she was interrupted by a rapid knock on the door.

"Second Master, it's urgent!"

When he heard the word "urgent", Tan Mozhu was stunned and burst into tears.

He let go of Rouge, not bothering to straighten his clothes and expression, and turned to open the door. Before the door closed, he asked anxiously, "Is someone missing again?"

Yanzhi heard these words and frowned, remembering the recent rumors circulating in the community about the haunted orphanage. She had a vague feeling that Tan Mozhu was about to be in great trouble.

After hearing A Tong's doubts, Tan Mozhu was completely disappointed and hurried to Qin's house.

Snap——

Unexpectedly, what he got was a slap in the face from Qin Yurong.

Tan Mozhu touched his left cheek which was hurt by the beating, and instead of getting angry he laughed, and beat his ex-wife with a bald brush for a while.

"After not seeing you for so many years, Yu'er is still as charming as ever."

Half compliment and half truth.

Qin Yurong was born into a prominent family and had always lived a life of luxury. After the divorce, she chose to keep to herself and not get involved in trivial matters in the rear quarters. She just helped her father, who had retired and traveled around the country, to manage the family business. She didn't have to serve her parents-in-law or have children. How happy she was! How could she grow old so easily?

Qin Yurong snorted coldly and rubbed the red palm of her right hand.

Tan Mozhu smiled and put his hands behind his back, "Yu'er hasn't remarried yet. Could it be that she's waiting for me to reconcile with her?"

"Pah!" Qin Yurong spat at him on the spot, her face brimming with disdain. "Please take a piss and look in the mirror. Do you still think you're the dashing Mr. Tan from back then?"

She stepped back, putting some distance between them, and took her turn to look him up and down.

"If you indulge in excessive sexual activity, beware of dying in some whore's bed!"

Tan Mozhu still responded with a smile, but his eyes were glancing around with a hint of sharpness.

The Qin Mansion is even bigger than the Tan Mansion. Not to mention hiding a few people, there is still enough space even if the entire orphanage is moved here.

"Yu'er, we'll meet again later."

After bowing and saying goodbye, Tan Mozhu left in a graceful manner.

"No!" Qin Yurong said coldly.

As soon as he left, Qin Yurong changed her previous arrogant and confident attitude and immediately became flustered.

"Did he discover something?"

Qin Yurong hurried to the study, wrote a letter to Tan Linshuang, asked a trusted servant to deliver it to the Tan residence, and asked him to hand it to the other party personally.

The servant did as he was told and followed the doorman to the north courtyard, where A Tao personally took him to find Tan Linshuang.

At this time, Tan Linshuang was walking with Zhao Mingyan in the garden. When she received the letter, she put on a serious expression. After reading the letter, her face darkened. She seemed to be talking to herself, but also seemed to be saying to Zhao Mingyan beside her: "The night is long and dreams are many. We can't delay any longer."

Zhao Mingyan's pupils trembled, "Has Tan Mozhu discovered our plan?"

That night, A Ye quietly appeared at Qin's residence and handed the complaint prepared by Tan Linshuang to Qin Yurong.

Neither Tan Linshuang nor Qin Yurong were sure whether their plan had been discovered by Tan Mozhu, but they unanimously decided to take the initiative.

Qin Yurong finished reading the complaint by candlelight, while A Ye continued to stay in her house, protecting her as a distant cousin.

Although the Qin Mansion had no shortage of guards with high martial arts skills, they did not understand the style of Tan Mozhu and his gang.

In the following days, the Qin Mansion seemed to be no different from usual, except that Qin Yurong had a distant cousin by her side, and the distant cousin brought several servants with her.

No more orphans disappeared from the orphanage, and the rumors of hauntings quickly disappeared.

Only A Tong continued to monitor A Ri, and the tail behind Tan Linshuang never stopped.

That morning, the family, including Li Yuzhu, had breakfast at the same table for a rare occasion. Fan Wenlan was the first to break the rule of not talking while eating and took the initiative to talk about her experience in pregnancy.

Li Yuzhu responded with drums and gongs, and everyone was talking and laughing in a harmonious atmosphere.

Only Zhao Mingyan was sensitive enough to notice that there were undercurrents between the uncle and nephew of the Tan family.

In addition, the gazes that Tan Mozhu cast at her, whether intentionally or unintentionally, always made her feel uncomfortable.

"My wife."

Tan Linshuang suddenly held Zhao Mingyan's hand and said to her with a smile: "I have a surprise for you later."

Zhao Mingyan blinked, her eyes shining brightly.

And when she saw the two machine makers brought by Tan Linshuang, the light in her eyes was as bright as stars.

"Husband, this is..." She excitedly grabbed Tan Linshuang's hand.

The reason why Mingyuezhai's lanterns were not selected as palace lanterns was because of the lack of mechanical design. Zhao Mingyan failed to master more sophisticated mechanical techniques, which was a regret that she could not let go of.

Tan Linshuang smiled and nodded at her, saying everything without words.

Zhao Mingyan was surprised and delighted.

Tan Linshuang said to her, "It's not appropriate for you to go out now. Why don't you just follow these two masters and learn the techniques of the instruments? My second uncle and I will take care of Mingyuezhai together. You don't need to worry about it."

"Husband, thank you so much!" Zhao Mingyan's eyes flashed slightly.

Her heart softened.

Tan Linshuang hugged her and whispered to her, "My lady, if you still have the energy, you can think carefully about how to expand the Shu brocade business of Zhenjietang."

"Back then, my aunt had the audacity to go to Jinguanyi to sell Shu brocade. Although it was a bit rash and she gave up halfway, it was a good start and pointed out a clear path for future generations."

Zhao Mingyan's eyes gradually widened. She seemed to have heard the hidden meaning behind Tan Linshuang's words. She lowered her voice and asked, "If Tan Mozhu is executed, will the Tan family suffer as well?"

Tan Linshuang frowned and nodded. "Even with Aunt Qin's father's intercession, our family's foundation will still be shaken. However, as long as innocent people are not implicated, the loss of some family property is nothing."

"But will grandma agree?" Zhao Mingyan's eyes were deep and sharp.

In the South Courtyard, a young man in a short brown shirt walked up to Tan Mozhu and bowed in response.

Tan Mozhu was trimming the branches and said in a low voice, "Call Ah Shou and Ah Gan back. There's no need to follow Lin'er anymore."

The other party took the order and left quickly.

"Am I worrying too much?"

Tan Mozhu stared at the scissors in his hand, and his eyes began to wander.

After sending two secret guards to follow for several days, they finally discovered that Tan Linshuang was really just helping Zhao Mingyan find an equipment maker to improve the lanterns, and was not secretly trying to make trouble.

"Could it be that Yu'er is behind this?"

He touched his left cheek and felt that Qin Yurong was still full of hatred towards him.

"If it was her, how did she do it?"

"Could she be hiding those missing people in the mansion?"

He didn't dare send anyone to sneak into the Qin Mansion to search, because the guards inside were no less capable than A Shou and his men.

"We can only let them lurk outside the Qin Mansion."

"The breakthrough point is still in the workhouse. I don't believe that a few living people would disappear out of thin air."

"There must be a secret passage or hidden door that has not been discovered yet. If not, then someone is colluding with us from both inside and outside!"

Tan Mozhu's eyes flashed, and he exerted force with the scissors in his hand, cutting off a forked branch neatly.

That night, there was a strong wind and dark clouds.

Everyone thought that another rainstorm was coming, but instead, they only saw flames rising into the sky.

"The fire is coming!"

A scream cut through the night sky, and everyone in the orphanage panicked and rushed out.

"Don't run... catch them!"

Shen Qiushan shouted quickly to prevent the orphan from escaping in the chaos. He did not bother to ask people to put out the fire, but took the lead to catch the orphan back.

Shouting loudly and quickly, scratching and making all kinds of noises.

At this moment, a team of carriages and horses entered Fushun County without any obstruction and headed straight for the Qin Mansion in Yongnian Town...